That may seem like an odd thing to say right now. A revival of the zombie film? For most people following horror, the zombie film hasn’t gone away. Cable television and the various streaming services are loaded with them; some old, some brand new. It wasn’t even that long ago that Brad Pitt was running around with zombies on the big screen screwing up a perfectly good book’s premise and talk of a follow-up film has been getting thrown around for a while now. As such, it may seem odd to some to say that we’re seeing a revival of the zombie movie. But the fact is, we are.

The thing is, I’m not talking about seeing more zombie movies being made or seeing larger zombie movies being made. I’m talking about a revival in the form of seeing better and better zombie films starting to be made again.

This week’s assignment was a little different than the so far usual format. Not only was Richard a first time viewer, but John as well. Oh, and there was also a guest. This week’s show takes a look at a 2008 independent film from North Carolina, award winning independent filmmaker Christine Parker’s zombie western Fistful of Brains. Joining John, Becca, Richard, and, due to mid-show technical difficulties on his end, a disappearing Jerry is Bill Mulligan, award winning North Carolina filmmaker and FX artist.

It’s December. We’re only a few short days away from Christmas. Maybe you’ve discovered you need a few more things to round out your Christmas gift lists. But, let’s face it, even the Suicide Squad would balk at being told they have to go out to a mall or major shopping center this weekend. The zombie hordes that once populated the darkest Romero nightmare about consumerism run amuck have nothing on the terror that’s about to be unleashed upon the already weary sales clerks of this country. Alternately, maybe you need something nice for yourself to help unwind a bit after the Olympic level event that is Christmas prep in the modern age or to look forward to for unwinding with after all the family has gone home and you need a little downtime.

Plus, well, with the suggestions on this list you’ll be helping out independent creators.

Thursday hit as one of those rare beast days where my regularly scheduled Needless Things piece dropped at the same time as one of my Gruesome Magazine pieces. Interestingly, they both have roots in Japan. One looks at a classic kaiju film version of an iconic American monster while the other looks at the modern Japanese take on the ravenous undead.

I love you, George, I really do. I’ve loved your films for years as well. Not just your zombie films either. I loved the original Crazies, I found the vision and ideas behind Knightridersto be both interesting and enjoyable, some friends and I have been once again extolling the virtues of the sheer joy that is Creepshow, and I regularly tell people that Martin is an underrated classic. Plus, you know, your original four zombie films helped to build a genre and inspire others.

This time of year you get a lot of reviews and discussion about books and movies, but what you don’t see a lot of people talking about is audio horror. I think that’s a real shame since audio horror pulled off well can be every bit as effective as a book or a film- maybe even more so. When done well, the sounds of two characters moving through decrepit old house that they’re maybe not the only occupants of can be more effective than two pages of written word, and the visual “FX budget” of your mind is obviously far less limited than even the biggest budgeted Hollywood film. Some can be fun and safe for family listening, some can be terrifying and maybe not for younger ears.

Turn off the movies. Close the books for just a bit. As Halloween gets closer, look into the horrors found in the medium of sound. Check out some full cast audio dramas and more in the run-up to this year’s Halloween.